Fractures of the femur which extend into the neck of the bone are generally more difficult to treat than fractures restricted to the shaft of the femur. Various osteosynthetic devices have been used in the treatment of these difficult fractures.
In one class of devices an intramedullary nail having transverse holes at or near its head is inserted into the femur and then one or more screws are inserted angularly across the head of the intramedullary nail. Such a nail is shown, for example in EPO patent application Ser. No. 0,257,118 published Mar. 2, 1988. A similar device is the "Gamma" locking nail, sold by Howmedica. Another design is the Russell-Taylor Reconstruction nail. All such prior devices have one deficiency or another. Some require extremely large or heavy screws; or where small transverse screws are employed the device does not provide adequate support. There is a need, therefore, for a device for reduction and stabilization of this type of fracture of the femur which is strong, light and relatively simple to implant.